Buyer's notes

Target Price team says:

There are three choices of suspension on the A-Class; comfort, lowered comfort and Engineered by AMG.

Even the Comfort suspension setups will be too firm for many tastes, feeling jittery on any road that isn’t perfectly smooth. The Engineered by AMG models are even firmer, but they do provide better body control to complement the car’s strong grip.

The diesel engines are disappointing because they’re noisy and generate too much vibration. The petrols are better, being smooth and happy to rev, but they’re also relatively underpowered compared with key rivals.

The standard six-speed manual gearbox is fine, although the twin-clutch gearbox is also worth considering. This is standard with the 1.8 diesel and 2.0 petrol, and a cost option across the range.

We reckon a A180 petrol car with a manual gearbox represents the best compromise.